In an age where artificial intelligence is increasingly woven into the fabric of daily lives, a recent study from MIT suggests a concerning trend, indicating that students who lean heavily on tools like ChatGPT might be experiencing a decline in their cognitive abilities.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge have discovered that students who relied on ChatGPT for essay writing exhibited weaker cognitive abilities than those who completed their work independently.
The Cognitive Cost of AI Reliance
As reported by The Telegraph, the researchers stated that 'reliance on AI systems can lead to a passive approach and diminished activation of critical thinking skills when the person later performs tasks alone.'
The research team aimed to identify the 'cognitive impact' of using large language models (LLMs), which have become increasingly widespread across all areas of society, including education. A winter survey conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that around 26% of teenage students used the AI chatbot for assistance with assignments in 2024, a notable increase from only 13% in 2023.
Behold! The 206-page paper from the MIT Media Lab that finds that using ChatGPT rots your brain. https://t.co/wI0IAOFgLM
— John Bohannon (@bohannon_bot) June 17, 2025
1. I like that there's a "How to Read This Paper" section on page 5.
2. Unsurprising but important results.
3. It'll be replicated for Cursor users. pic.twitter.com/oGrg582gyj
To assess the cognitive effects of using AI homework assistants, researchers at MIT asked 54 individuals to write several SAT essays, as reported by Time Magazine. The participants were divided into three groups: one using only their knowledge, another using Google, and a third using the widely used LLM, ChatGPT.
Brain Drain: How AI Affects Our Minds
Each person wore an electroencephalography (EEG) device, allowing researchers to monitor their brain activity during the task. The Telegraph reported that the ChatGPT group 'performed worse than their counterparts in the brain-only group at all levels: neural, linguistic, scoring.'
The authors also noted that the readings indicated less activity in the brain regions linked to memory and learning, suggesting that much of the 'thinking and planning was offloaded.' In fact, scholars who used AI became more passive with each essay, reaching a point where, by the third paper, they were inputting the prompt into ChatGPT and letting it handle the entire task.
'It was more like, "Just give me the essay, refine this sentence, edit it, and I'm done,"' explained the paper's lead author, Nataliya Kosmyna. In stark contrast, the essay writers who worked without external help showed the highest levels of brain activity, particularly in areas associated with language understanding, creativity, and memory.
🚨BREAKING: If you use ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI writing tool, this MIT study might change how you see them forever.
— Himanil (@Himanil_Gole) June 19, 2025
Spoiler: Your brain might be paying a price you don't know about, yet.
Since the original MIT study was about 200+ pages long, I used Google's Notebook LM to… pic.twitter.com/1hQsLhiSfO
The study also noted that the brain-only group felt more engaged and satisfied with their essays. Interestingly, the Google group displayed slightly less engagement but the same level of recall. This could be a worrying development, considering the growing number of people using AI for research instead of traditional internet search engines.
Researchers concluded that 'frequent AI tool users often bypass deeper engagement with material, leading to "skill atrophy" in tasks like brainstorming and problem-solving.'
The authors stated that this could lead to long-term consequences, including 'diminished critical inquiry, increased vulnerability to manipulation', and 'decreased creativity'. Fortunately, the study's findings didn't completely criticise AI in education.
A Double-Edged Tool: AI's Impact on Learning
For a follow-up test, the scientists asked both the ChatGPT and brain-only groups to rewrite one of their earlier essays. The AI-assisted participants worked without the chatbot this time, while the previously unassisted group was allowed to use the advanced technology.
Predictably, the ChatGPT group didn't retain much information from their essays, suggesting either a lack of engagement with the material or difficulty recalling it.
Meanwhile, the group that originally worked independently showed significantly increased brain activity across all the previously mentioned regions, even while using the tool. This suggests that, if used correctly, AI could be a valuable academic aid instead of something that hinders cognitive ability.
This warning about AI-induced brain atrophy emerges, rather alarmingly, as the technology itself becomes increasingly 'intelligent.'
Recently, Chinese researchers uncovered the first evidence that AI models such as ChatGPT process information in a way that mirrors the human mind, especially concerning how they group language.
